We’re working with freight operators to run longer freight trains across our railway. These longer freight trains can carry more goods – helping grow the freight industry and taking more lorries of the road.
A new type of locomotive
We recently worked with the freight operating company DB Cargo to help them run a longer freight train on a key freight route from South to North London. These trains carry sand between Angerstein Wharf in Greenwich and the St Pancras freight terminal.
DB Cargo modified some of their Class 66 locomotives that are used across these routes to enable them to haul more weight. The extra wagon now added on this train carries an extra 75 tonnes more sand.
The locomotives were previously geared to run at a top speed of 75 miles per hour. They were then re-geared to have a slightly lower top speed of 60 to 65 miles per hour. This allows them to pull heavier loads by increasing traction performance or the ability to apply power. The locomotives also have better acceleration from a standing start which further improves their performance.
Testing and trialling
We tested the new locomotives in a controlled and planned way to ensure they could carry these bigger loads along the route. We wanted to be sure they didn’t affect other freight or passenger trains.
The trials lasted a year and involved rigorous testing stages, observations and analysis.
We crucially tested the train during autumn – typically the most challenging season for the railway. Leaves on the line during autumn can make it more difficult for train wheels to maintain grip with the rail. It can cause trains to slip when accelerating or braking. We had to be sure that these longer trains could safely and reliably run along the route even in these challenging conditions.
The trials were a success and DB Cargo were given the go ahead this December to formally run longer trains on this route.
Bigger benefits
We’re working with other freight companies and the wider supply chain to help them move more goods on our railway in a similar way.
These longer freight trains are more efficient – carrying more product per train and making better use of the routes on our railway.
They also help reduce congestion on our roads and move goods in a greener way.
For example, the extra wagon carried between Angerstein Wharf and St Pancras is the same as taking two lorries off the roads. That amounts to taking an extra 12 lorries off the road each week given the journey is currently made six times a week or over 500 lorries each year. The benefits are less congestion and cleaner air for all.
They also help us support rail freight growth. Growing the rail freight industry is an important part of our plans to become greener. We aim to run a net-zero emissions railway by 2050. And we plan to grow the rail freight services by 8% by 2029. Work like this is crucial to help us get there.
Kenneth Yarham, a senior regional freight manager at Network Rail, said: “These trials to run longer freight services prove that we can sustainably do more with what we have, make better use of network capacity and achieve greater volumes for the freight end user and wider supply chain. It is always very satisfying to work collaboratively with our customers on such improvements.”
